Monday, November 18, 2013

I know that what I am doing is the will of God

November 18, 2013

Dear Family,

It sounds like it has been a really crazy week for you guys. I can't believe that there were 3 deaths in a short time period. It seemed like Todd was in pretty good health when I met him. That is really sad for all of those families, but like you said we are so very grateful that we have the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. I love teaching the Plan of Salvation because it addresses so many topics that blow people’s minds. So many people don't have any idea why we are here on this earth or where we are going....(Nobody here even thinks about where we came from). But it really is a huge blessing that we know that everything works out in the end IF we perseverar hasta el fin.

Sounds like Luke had a pretty sweet B-day! Its good to see how much he is growing! I wish I could have been there to give him his birthday spankings. I guess Sam or Mikey will have to fill in for me. haha I wish I could have gone on your space mission with you! Make sure you take care of R2D2 and Chewbaca for me ;)

Sam's wedding is this week! I am so excited for them! I hope everything goes well with that. I was trying to write a letter for the wedding but I didn't get it off in time but I will send it as soon as I can. It is kind of hard out here in Chuy because we are so far away from everybody. But give hugs to everyone for me at the wedding! Make sure to welcome Annie in to the family for me as well! She has Elder Lacey's approval. Make sure Sam takes good care of her. I am bummed that I can't be there but I will be there in spìrit. :)

Is this week Thanksgiving? That is crazy! Tell the brothers to go play some Turkey Bowl for me.

This week was crazy for us down here tambien. Elder Ochoa and I really did work this whole week. It is funny because in every area that I have been we pretty much ¨wipe slate¨. We just start over everything. When I got here to Chuy we had that one baptism but after that there was nobody. We had a lot of names to pass by for but we quickly realized that none of them were interested. So, this whole week we were out finding new investigators. We walked a ton! But we are starting to see the fruits of our efforts. We don't have a lot of firm investigators but we are getting there. We did the same thing when I was in San Carlos and we had to do that in Aeroparque as well. But to answer your question, yes, I am sleeping really well. haha That is the good thing about walking around all day. You are super tired afterwards. But I am really excited for the future here. Elder Ochoa is a good teacher and we have been working really hard to find these people who are ready to hear our message.

This past Saturday I had a really cool experience. We were looking desperately everywhere for new investigators and we were having some pretty good success. But we had a charla with a Menos Activo family at 7. At 7:30 the other missionaries had a baptism so we weren't planning on spending a ton of time with this family. We got to this family’s house and we were talking with the mom when suddenly out of the blue her daughter came up to the house with her 2 friends. It really surprised me that her 2 friends came in and sat down and wanted to listen to us. So we ended up having a really good lesson with them! One of the friends was atheist and the other one didn't have a religion. But after we finished teaching them about the restoration I invited them to come to the baptism and they agreed! We were a little late but we all got there before the service started. Everything went really well and I noticed that the atheist girl was actually really interested in it all. After the guy was baptized the other elders didn't have anything planned to do while everyone waited for them to get dressed so I went up and directed a hymn. During the hymn I felt impressed to bare my testimony. So after we finished singing I bore it. There were a few non members there and the menos activo family was there and so I really wanted them to feel the spirit and know that this baptism that we saw was an important step in this life. I felt the spirit really strong and needless to say I ended up crying a good bit. I know that everyone there felt the spirit. I am excited to see if these 2 girls who are about 20 will continue to investigate our church and if this menos activo family will start coming again. We have a charla with them all in a few days so we will see how it goes.

I have always wondered why I cry so much when I bare my testimony but I think I finally learned why. It is not a curse but a blessing. Through my tears I feel like the spirit can testify to these people. They can really see that I know without a doubt that this message is true. I was so grateful for this experience that I had. I know that what I am doing is the will of God.

I am loving Chuy! We don't eat a ton but we are eating more healthy so I am excited about it. We eat a lot of beans and rice haha And I am learning a little bit of Portuguese!

Good luck with schoolwork Mom and Luke. Just remember one of my favorite phrases from Coach Jackson.....Dig Dig Dig Dig Dig!!!!!! Keep working hard and keep praying. :)

I love everyone so much. My family is the best. I feel so bad that I don't have enough time to talk to everyone. I have been meaning to send some emails to everyone but this hour goes by soooo fast. Send my love to everybody. I keep everyone in my prayers every night.